Estes Park Campground, July 1-5, 2022

Estes Park was the perfect place to get away from fireworks.

Our campground was perfect and was full of families so we got peace and quiet, even on the 4th of July.

There was no fire ban so we spent a lot of time sitting around the fire and talking. 

I truly believe that these trips bond our family closer together. I heard about Connors friends and how he absolutely loves high school.  He said, “I really like my life” which warmed my heart. 

I heard about Carlys goals for swimming and how her friends are changing at school.  I heard about how Camilla wants to grow her hair long and she is looking forward to freedom in high school. 

Lloyd and I shared stories of our high school years.  Our campsite had nice clean showers for us to use so we never got super dirty.  Our neighbor camper had a guitar and Connor talked to him a bit about guitars.   Lloyd, Connor, Camilla, and me all went on a 8 mile dirt loop trail called Bible Point. 

There was a long climb and I ran faster than the bikes.

Of course, the bikes go faster on the downhill and that beat the crap out of me.

The paddleboarding was a bit difficult because the lake was so windy.

Carly and I went back paddle boarding a second day and Carly struggled with Lola on the board so I got Lola off and put her on my board, which made me drop my paddle in the water.

I rescued that too.  Lola is so used to paddleboarding that she now climbs up on her own and actually falls asleep on the board.

Although, Carly bumped into my board and knocked Lola right off into the water.  She swam back to shore with her little life jacket on.

We set up our horseshoes and slam ball and our slamball died in the fire pit. 

We bought some souvenirs in town and it was the most crowded I have ever seen Estes Park.  Lloyd asked a shop owner why it was so crowded and he said that Estes Park is always crowded on the 4th of July if it falls near a weekend.

They had people directing traffic everywhere. We enjoyed a meal out, boba, and ice cream.  Lola went in the stores with us.

Estes Park is another dog friendly town.  Lola got many treats from store owners.  I saw a lady with a dog tent at her site and I walked up and talked to her. She said she loves the dog tent but never camps so she sold it to me for $20.

Lola warmed up to it right away.

We saw goats,

deer,

and ponies.

We didn’t see elk or moose on this trip.

Connor is back to focusing on chess.

He spent time reading and practicing chess.

Lloyd, Connor, and Camilla biked the homestead trail that had many old homes from the 1900s.

I started and almost finished my new book, “Freezing Order” and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about Russia and Putin. It reads just like a thriller, but is real life terror.